Audible vs Libby

If there’s one thing humanity has truly perfected, it’s finding ever more elaborate ways to listen to someone else read a book. Both of these fine institutions—Audible and Libby—offer precisely that. You can download books, adjust how fast people talk at you and even mark the exact spot where you fell asleep so you can pretend you were paying attention all along. Naturally, neither will let you in without an account, because that would be like letting people wander into a bookstore and just start reading. Madness.

Audible, being an Amazonian construct, operates on the principle that books should be bought, hoarded and owned until the end of civilization (or at least your account). It gives you credits, exclusive content and a deep sense of financial commitment. It’s perfect for those who want to build a personal audio-library of things they swear they’ll get around to listening to one day. Also, it exists pretty much everywhere, because Amazon does.

Libby, on the other hand, believes books should be borrowed, shared, and, most importantly, returned before some digital librarian glares at you. It’s powered by OverDrive and generally likes to hang out in the U.S. and Canada, though it occasionally vacations elsewhere. It doesn’t charge a penny, but it does expect you to have a library card and it’s prone to making you wait weeks for a book you didn’t even want that badly. Ideal for those who enjoy literature, patience and the thrill of digital due dates.